Blood and Needles
by TinyDancer14
Summary: When the doctor had first diagnosed her, her initial reaction was, "Why me?" But now as she glances around at the thousands of people with the same condition, her thought is, "Why any of us?"


Blood and Needles

"Gabriella, are you ready yet? My god, we're going to be late." Eighteen-year-old Troy Bolton called to the closed door of his girlfriend, who didn't answer him. He adjusted the cuff of his sleeve before leaning back against the hallway and waiting again.

Now high school seniors, he and said girlfriend Gabriella Montez had been appointed head of their class- as treasurer and vice president, respectively- and had to have a meeting with their president, some girl from student council, and the secretary, Taylor McKessie. They were all meeting at a fancy restaurant in downtown Albuquerque to discuss their upcoming senior prom and plan out graduation. Gabriella's mother had been out of town for the weekend, leaving her soon-to-be eighteen-year-old daughter on her own for a few nights.

She never minded being on her own, but Troy, being as overprotective as he was, did.

Gabriella explained to him that she really was okay with it and that she was capable of taking care of herself, and he let it go. But he still had an inkling that something wasn't right. Lately, she'd been really fatigued and had been losing a ton of weight, although she'd been eating more and more each day. Taylor suggested she might have a tapeworm, but Gabriella told her it was ridiculous. She hadn't eaten any half-cooked meat, so the tapeworm was ruled out. Troy shook the thoughts from his head and knocked on the door again.

"Gabriella, come on. We really need to get going."

Still, no sound came from behind her bedroom door. Troy turned the knob slightly and noticed it was unlocked, so he knocked again before opening it and stepping in her bedroom. He didn't find her at first- that was odd. She should have been getting ready and preparing for the meeting they would be attending. Where was she? When Troy heard the water running in the bathroom, he relaxed a little and headed over to her adjoined room where the door was open. But his heart nearly stopped when he approached the room.

Gabriella was lying unconscious on the floor.

The sink was running and overflowing onto the floor, but Troy didn't mind in and crouched down beside her. He cradled her lifeless body in his arms and shook her. "Gabriella, oh my god. Wake up. Wake up!"

She was breathing- that was a good sign- but still didn't make a move. Troy noticed that both her heartbeat and her pulse were dangerously fast, and he didn't know what to do. Scooping some water that was pooling on the countertop, he splashed some on her face, hoping that would do some good. She stirred a little, and he sighed in relief.

"Gabriella...!"

She opened her eyes slowly and glanced at him. "I told you not to come in until I was done getting ready."

Troy closed his eyes and held her close to him before uttering, "If I didn't, would you be alive right now?"

She giggled slightly and struggled to get up. "Relax, I fainted. Not a big deal."

He stared at her, dumbfounded. "Not a big deal? Are you serious? Something could really be wrong with you."

Gabriella turned off the sink and began to mop up the water that was now accumulating on the floor. "I have a checkup in a few days. They'll catch anything that's wrong there."

"Do you feel okay?"

"Kinda lightheaded. And really hungry."

Troy gave her a hug again, noticing that the slim waist he was wrapping his arms around was getting considerably slimmer. "We're going to eat at the meeting. Are you sure you're okay?"

She kissed his cheek. "I'm fine. Really. But I have to pee, so privacy would be nice please."

He kissed her right back and said, "Don't take forever. We're really late now."

About a half hour later, Troy and Gabriella arrived at the restaurant they were meeting their class council in. They found the table where Taylor and the president, Sarah Thomas, were sitting at and joined them. And after only a few moments of planning, Gabriella excused herself to go to the bathroom once again. Sarah and Taylor, of course having not been at her house earlier, didn't think anything of it. But to Troy, it struck him as odd.

The next day, a Sunday, Gabriella and Taylor got together to do their chemistry project together. They were in the middle of discussing the difference between a metalloid and a halogen when Gabriella left for the bathroom for the fourth time that afternoon. Taylor also noticed that she'd been drinking an awful lot of water- she'd finished at least three full glasses when Taylor was still only on her first. When Gabriella came back, Taylor gave her an odd look, but didn't say anything. After all, it was probably just a urinary tract infection, and that clears up... right?

That night, for the first time since she was four, Gabriella wet the bed.

When Monday came, Gabriella was glad she was going to the doctor's office that afternoon. She'd been feeling odd for a few weeks now- constant urination, excessive eating but weight loss, and of course, her bed-wetting- and she really wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on with her body. She believed Taylor when she suggested that she might have a UTI, and really wanted to get her antibiotics so she could feel normal again. So after school, she hurried to the doctor's office and checked herself in.

And then, she waited.

When she was finally called in and the doctor arrived, she greeted her friendlily, but got right to the point. "I haven't been feeling well lately. I'm not sure what's wrong with me."

"What kind of symptoms are you having?" Doctor Kendall asked.

"Well I've been eating like crazy but I haven't been gaining weight- only losing it. I have to go to the bathroom about every ten minutes and on Saturday, I fainted."

Doctor Anna Kendall knew exactly what was happening without having to test it.

"Why don't I take your urine sample first?"

But she needed to check to be sure.

After she had checked the urine for the one thing that would tip her off to Gabriella's diagnosis, she stuck Gabriella's finger for a blood sample as well. She needed to be extra sure it wasn't just a urinary tract infection. But although she prayed it was, the results of the blood sample came back and she knew Gabriella wasn't getting out of this that easily. She entered the doctor annex a moment more with a grim look and glanced at the poor young girl who was going to experience a lifetime of hell.

"Gabriella honey, are you here alone?"

She nodded. "My mom's at work."

"Now I don't want you to get yourself all worked up, but I need you to go to the emergency room right away." Dr. Kendall spoke calmly. "I'm going to call ahead and tell them you're coming, okay?"

Gabriella's eyes widened at 'emergency room.' "Why, what's wrong with me?"

"I don't want to scare you..."

"What's wrong with me?" The brunette repeated, standing and eyeing the doctor cautiously.

"Your blood-glucose level is over six hundred."

"What's it supposed to be?"

"Between seventy and one-hundred forty."

Gabriella wasn't sure what that meant, but obviously she was not where she was supposed to be. The doctor guided her out of the room, telling her exactly what she needed to do when she got to the hospital. Gabriella nodded and called her mom, advising her of where she'd be, and of course Maria freaked out. She told her daughter she was leaving immediately and that she'd meet her at the hospital. Gabriella then called Troy. He was coming too.

By the time they all arrived, the doctor that was going to be tending to them was awaiting their arrival. "Good afternoon. My name is Doctor Hudson." Turning to Gabriella, he extended a hand in her direction. "You must be Gabriella Montez."

The hand that wasn't gripping Troy's like a vice shook his. "Yeah. Hi. This is my mom and boyfriend."

"It's nice to meet all of you. Come with me."

They walked a long hallway and stopped at one of the rooms where Gabriella knew unfortunately that she'd be residing in. Dr. Hudson had her sit on the bed as he took another blood sampling. He frowned at the results. "Hmm... Dr. Kendall told me you were around 618 in the office. You're about 592 now. You haven't come down much."

She gripped Troy's hand even harder. "A-And what does that mean? What's wrong with me?"

"Gabriella, I'm afraid you have Juvenile Diabetes."

* * *

"Juvenile Diabetes, or Type 1 as it's most commonly called, is a disease that affects how the body uses glucose- the main type of sugar in the blood- to break down food and nutrients." Dr. Hudson explained. "After you eat, the body breaks down the food and nutrients in the meal you consumed, the glucose level rises, and triggers the pancreas to create a hormone called insulin, which synthesizes the sugar. Diabetics, however, don't produce this insulin and their immune system attacks the pancreas, destroying the cells and even the pancreas itself."

Gabriella, who was now lying on the bed in a hospital gown, cringed. Troy was sitting on one side of her, still holding her hand and trying to process this information, while Maria was weeping in the corner. Dr. Hudson continued.

"The early symptoms of the disease are frequent urination, increased appetite, weight loss, fatigue, and the state of abnormal thirst. Passing out is another symptom that can also happen, but this usually occurs when your blood sugar is too low. You're going to want to find a happy medium."

"But I can get over this, right?" Gabriella asked quietly. "I won't have to live with this forever, will I?"

Dr. Hudson smiled sadly. "Scientists are still working on a cure. But... your pancreas won't ever make insulin again."

"It... won't?"

"No. I'm so sorry. But we need to get you started on insulin as soon as possible. Your blood-glucose level is dangerously high. I'm going to get the diabetes educator in here as soon as she's free. But first, I have to give you your first injection."

The first shot, Gabriella didn't even feel. She was still numb from learning the news of her new disease. _Diabetes_. She was a diabetic now. It was scary to think of and even scarier as she knew her life was forever altered just by one doctor visit. All she wanted was an antibiotic to cure herself... and found something so much worse. She went to the doctor thinking she'd be out in about ten minutes... and instead succumbed to a disease that lasted a lifetime.

The diabetes educator- Dr. Lucy Greene- entered the room at that second, looking awfully cheery despite the situation. "Hello! First of all, I'm very sorry about your unfortunate diagnosis. But I'm here to help you come to terms with your disease and help you understand what's going on with your body."

Both Troy and Maria glanced at Gabriella, but she kept her eyes focused on the doctor.

"You'll need to test your blood sugar four times a day by using this finger-stick. Just simply load it with a lancet, press the button, and there you go. Instant blood." She demonstrated. "It will feel just as if you'd stuck your finger on a rose thorn. No pain, really. Then, place a testing strip in this meter and fill this tiny dot with blood. It shouldn't take that much blood; you don't need a river. And then in about five to ten seconds, it should indicate your BG, or blood-glucose."

The meter beeped. "Ah, see? I'm 105. Perfect. You should be between eighty and one-eighty."

"Dr. Kendall said seventy to one-forty before," Gabriella stated in confusion.

Dr. Greene nodded. "It changes for each person, and that's the rough estimation. But for a teenage girl, eighty to one-eighty is perfect. If you go below eighty, you need something with sugar to bring you back up. Going extremely low is very dangerous, and that is why we prepare you with a glucagon- a tiny shot that's filled with instant glucose to get you right on track."

"What happens if I go too high?"

"Then you need something with protein, low sugar, or exercise to bring you down." Dr. Greene was about to continue when her beeper went off. "Oh, sorry. I have to take this. It's an emergency. I'll be right back."

Maria also left the room to make a few calls. Troy sat on the bed facing his girlfriend, but she still said nothing. "Gabriella... how are you doing?"

She still stared off into space, saying absolutely nothing and showing no emotion. After a few minutes she just shook her head. "I don't know... I don't feel anything right now."

Troy reached for her hand but she pulled it away, instead throwing her arms around his neck and collapsing against him. All the hurt, confusion, and painful emotion flooded through her body as she sobbed in Troy's arms. He couldn't help but want to take away her pain but knew he could not. It hurt him to see his girlfriend in such a situation where he couldn't fix her problem. She always came to him when she was seeking comfort and he always made her feel better. Now, there was nothing he could do.

"Why did this have to happen to me, Troy?" Gabriella screamed in frustration. "Why? I didn't do anything wrong. I took care of myself. I went to the doctor _every year_!! I don't deserve this!"

Troy held onto her even tighter. "No one deserves this, Gabriella."

"I don't want this! I want to be a normal teenager! I want to be able to go to prom and eat whatever they're serving for dinner without having to worry about whether or not it's going to spike my blood sugar! I want to graduate high school like a normal kid and not have to test my blood-glucose level in between names! I want to go to college and not have to report home to my mom every day what my testing scores are!"

He stayed silent and just held her as she shook with anger and continued to rant. "I don't want to have to get blood work every three months to make sure I'm doing everything correctly! I don't want to give myself injections five times a day! I don't want my fingers to be all callused like a pincushion from sticking them every day for blood! I can't handle this! I can't!"

The tears had long since dried out. Gabriella was fuming with rage and sadness. Troy pulled her away from his body and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders, making them see eye to eye. "Gabriella, listen to me. I know you don't want this. No one does. And believe me; I don't want this for you either. But you are one of the strongest people I know. I _know_ you can deal with this. I know you can. I'll be there for you always while you do. We'll get through all the highs and lows together- no pun intended."

Gabriella laughed a bit. "Thank you."

"Plus, we'll get everyone we know to donate to the research foundation. After all, every little bit counts. We'll find a cure. You just have to believe, Gabriella. You've got to have faith."

She hugged her boyfriend again, kissing his cheek before she did so. "You're amazing. I love you so much."

"I love you too. We really are going to get through this. I promise you."

Gabriella managed a smile. "I believe you."

* * *

It was a sunny Sunday morning in early April. The spring air blew gently as Gabriella Montez, both of her parents, and all of her friends congregated at Balloon Fiesta Park for the annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, known as the JDRF, Walk to Cure Diabetes prepared to launch. Gabriella and Troy had gotten nearly the entire school to donate to her team and show up to walk. The Montez Miracle Makers, as their team was called, were all dressed in their bright tie-dye team shirts and anxious to get on the walk.

"Gabriella, these shirts are so cool!" Kelsi commented, coming up to her friend. "I can't wait to get out there!"

"Thanks, I've always like tie-dye," Gabriella grinned.

Sharpay picked at her shirt. "Next year, I'd go with one solid color, but it's not too bad."

"Glad you approve."

Chad and Taylor bounded up to them excitedly. "Look what we got over there!" They showed Gabriella both of their cheeks. On one, _Cure_ was painted and on the other _Gabriella_ was inscribed.

"Oh my god you guys!" Gabriella shrieked. "Where did you get that?"

"They have a face-painting station over there." Chad explained. "Isn't it cool?"

"I'll tell you what's cool," Zeke laughed appearing with Jason. "Bouncy Bounces! Oh man, they are SO much fun!"

"They still let you on those?" Troy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jason shrugged. "I guess so. We got on just fine."

"You guys, I just really want to thank you for coming. It means so much to me that you're-" Gabriella began to thank her friends but was interrupted by a beeping coming from her stomach. "Damn, I forgot to give insulin for breakfast."

She reached down and unzipped her pump pack to enter the amount of insulin needed. A few months ago, Gabriella gave up on the injections when her doctor introduced her to the insulin pump, a small electronic device that connected to her body and held the insulin she needed. It was attached to her stomach all the time and she had to change the site every three days, but it was much easier than giving injections every single day. And in her life, she could use all the simplicity she could get.

Life with diabetes is never easy. There s always so much to worry about at any one given time. If one went too high, it could lead to serious health problems like heart failure or high blood pressure. If one went to low, they could go unconscious or even die. Nine thousand people are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes per year, and unfortunately, most of these are children. Donating to the Diabetes Research Foundation can help save these children from the stress of living with this disease. Because kids only get one chance to be kids, don't they? Managing their diabetes takes time away from their life.

Do you really want their lives to be centered around blood and needles?

* * *

**This is a true story. I based it on my own family's struggle with this disease. On May 13th, 2004, my younger sister was eating a lot of carbs, losing weight, and urinating incessantly. My mom took her to the doctor, thinking she had a Urinary Tract Infection, and instead was urged to go to the hospital. That night, my little sister who was only five-years-old at the time was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. My sister's nine now and although she deals with her diabetes with amazing strength, she is ready for it to be over. She's ready for the cure. The main purpose of this story was to spread understanding of this disease that's plaguing America, and to make sure that people understand that you can't get it from poor diet habits (that's how you get Type 2 Diabetes, a completely different disease). It can happen to anyone (I mean hey, look at Nick Jonas), and I just wanted to get the story out there. So thank you for reading and please review. It'll make me feel so great. :)  
**


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